Yes, this really is a CP. It catches tiny creatures in the water-logged soil
using (slightly modified) bladder traps like the aquatic species. When your
plant grows larger, try moving the soil away from the inside edge of the pot
to see the traps (or wait a little longer for the stolons to emerge from the
drainage holes...). This plant is one of the easier Utrics to grow (ie. it
can be a real weed ;-) ) and I keep mine in a water tray throughout the year.
Avoid cold temperatures (say keep above 0-5 degrees Celcius ??) as I think
it prefers a warm climate (although I've got some growing in an outside mini
peat bog, and they seem OK - temps don't normally drop below freezing and
definitely no snow).
>A second project (in fact started today) is to construct a 1 x 2 m outdoor
>bog to be connected to my pond. I was planning make a hole about 50 cm deep
>line it with a sturdy plastic liner and fill it with a mix of peat and sand.
>Finally I plan to get some live moss locally and some of our native CPs
>like D. rotundifolia, D. intermedia and D. longifolia together with other
>native bog-plants.
>Does it sound feasible? Comments anyone?
Be warned - a 50 cm deep bog will take a large amount of peat to fill - ours
was about a 60 cm cube (perhaps slightly bigger) and took about twice as much
peat to fill than we expected. However, the plants will normally grow better
once they become established, but can also look a little ratty because of
pests, etc (more like true wild plants). Your idea of locally occuring CPs
and non-CPs is a good one - they should cope with the weather conditions and
pests much better, and the non-CPs make it more natural and interesting. If
possible, check to see how big the non-CPs grow in the wild to ensure they
don't grow too big or spread too vigorously. Good Luck!
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| John Taylor [The Banshee] | Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology |
| rphjt@minyos.xx.rmit.oz.au | Department of Applied Physics |
| MOKING IS A HEALTH HAZARD. | Melbourne, Victoria, AUSTRALIA |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+